Category: Type: Homicide-Suicide

Homicide followed by completed suicide.

Phyllis Fish

No PhotoName: Phyllis Fish.
Died: September 20, 2009.
Age at death: 88.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Laguna Woods, California, USA.
Disability: Stroke, recent cancer diagnosis, dementia.

Details:
Phyllis’s husband drugged her with morphine, then shot her and himself in the head.

Case status:
James Fish (Husband); charged with manslaughter, but died before he could be tried.

Source:
Doctor, 90, kills wife, tries to commit suicide
“Mercy Killing”: When Love & Law Conflict
DA dismisses mercy killing case after husband dies
Retired doctor suspected of killing wife, shooting self, dies

Faheem Farook

No PhotoName: Faheem Mohamed Farook.
Died: April 24, 2009.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Fall.
Location: Singapore.
Disability: Asperger syndrome.

Details:
Faheem and his parents moved to Singapore from India when he was just a year old; at five, Faheem was diagnosed with autism, and his parents were “troubled by his condition”.

When he was seven, his father pushed him out a high-rise window and jumped out after him.

Case status:
Mohamed Farook (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Faheem Farook
Husband leaped to death with son: She taps into grief to help others heal
Book of stories about conquering mental illness launched at charity’s 5th anniversary dinner

Betty Erickson

Portrait photo of Betty Erickson, a white-haired, pale-skinned elderly woman.Name: Betty Lou Erickson.
Died: March 24, 2009.
Age at death: 81.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Hudson, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Alzheimer’s disease.

Details:
Betty’s husband shot her in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Claire Erickson (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Desperate act from a weary caregiver
More details released in Erickson deaths

Terrell Stepney

Black and white newspaper photo of Terrell Stepney, a young man with dark skin and a buzz cut.Name: Terrell Stepney.
Died: February 27, 2009.
Age at death: 19.
Cause of death: Prescription medication overdose.
Location: Chesapeake, Virginia, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Terrell’s grandmother poisoned him and herself with an overdose of prescription medication.

Terrell looked forward to going shopping on school field trips with his special education class.

Case status:
Constance Stepney (Grandmother), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Terrell Stepney
Student killed by grandmother liked gym, field trips

Kyle Dutter

Photo of Kyle Dutter, a boy wearing a camo top and holding a rabbit, smiling, revealing large front teeth.Name: Kyle Dutter.
Died: November 18, 2008.
Age at death: 12.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Middleton, Wisconsin, USA.
Disability: Autism.

Details:
Kyle was shot by his father in a murder-suicide.

His favorite holiday was Halloween. He loved dressing up and going trick-or-treating, and was always talking about Halloween to anyone who would listen.

Case status:
Ryan Dutter (Father), deceased.

Source:
Autism Memorial: Kyle Dutter
NEW DETAILS: Murder-Suicide
Kyle Thomas Dutter, Beloit  (1996 – 2008)
Suicide notes left behind by Middleton father who shot his son and himself

Eileen Martin

Photo of an older woman with pale skin and red cheeks, her short curly hair colored auburn. she is wearing glasses and smiling for the camera.Name: Eileen Martin.
Died: November 10, 2008.
Age at death: 76.
Cause of death: Head injury.
Location: Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, England, UK.
Disability: Vascular dementia.

Details:
Eileen’s husband killed her by hitting her in the head before committing suicide.

Case status:
Ken Martin (Husband), deceased.

Source:
Shock over tragedy of ‘devoted couple’
Families REJECT claims a mystery serial killer slaughtered their elderly relatives and insist it was murder-suicide
Elderly husband killed dementia-suffering wife and himself ‘so she didn’t become a burden on family’

Sarah-Jane Dore

Photo of Sarah-Jane Dore, a white woman with blonde hair. She is wearing glasses and a collared shirt.Name: Sarah-Jane Dore.
Died: February 14, 2008.
Age at death: 26.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Western Southland, New Zealand.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Sarah-Jane’s father shot her, then killed himself.

Sarah-Jane was a powerlifter who competed in the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics.

Case status:
Graeme Dore (Father), deceased.

Source:
Father, daughter shot dead
Find a Grave: Sarah-Jane Dore

Francecca Hardwick

Photo: A teenage girl, her brown hair cut short. She has fair skin and blue eyes. There is a gap between her two front teeth. She is wearing a yellow polo shirt.Name: Francecca “Frankie” Hardwick.
Died: October 23, 2007.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Fire.
Location: Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, England, UK.
Disability: Intellectual disability.

Details:
Francecca’s mother locked herself and Francecca into their car and set it on fire. 18-year-old Frankie burned to death.

Francecca’s schoolteachers remember how she loved to jump in puddles, play on swings, and give massages.

Case status:
Fiona Pilkington (Mother), deceased.

Source:
Bullies ‘drove mother and daughter to fireball death’
Francecca Hardwick: portrait of a victim
A Pilkington Malaise? Have We Really Learnt the Lessons for 2020?

Sarah Grupstein

No PhotoName: Sarah Grupstein.
Died: September 19, 2007.
Age at death: 84.
Cause of death: Gunshot.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Disability: Stroke, mobility impaired (Wheelchair user), diabetes, heart disease.

Details:
Sarah was shot by her son in a murder-suicide.

Case status:
Percy Stein (Son), deceased.

Source:
History of euthanasia in Canada
Sarah Grupstein’s Obituary on National Post
Cancer-stricken man commits murder-suicide
`We weep for their pain,’ rabbi says at murder-suicide funeral
Murder or mercy?

Daniel Benoit

Photo of Daniel Benoit, a little boy in a formal shirt and tie.Name: Daniel Christopher Benoit.
Died: June 25, 2007.
Age at death: 7.
Cause of death: Suffocated.
Location: Fayetteville, Georgia, USA.
Disability: Fragile X (Disputed).

Details:
Daniel’s father suffocated him in a murder-suicide. He also killed Daniel’s mother, Nancy.

Daniel might not have had Fragile X; a family member reported that he did not, but the media widely reported Daniel’s Fragile X as having been the stressor that drove his father to kill him.

Case status:
Chris Benoit (Father), deceased.

Source:
Christopher Michael BENOIT
Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide – Wikipedia
The tragic family secret Benoit kept from the world
Attorney: Couple argued over care of mentally retarded 7-year-old son
Sandra Toffoloni talks about her sister’s murder at the hands of Chris Benoit
SON’S DISABILITY SUGGESTED AS FACTOR IN BENOIT MURDER-SUICIDE
Chris Benoit Conspiracy Theories Debunked: What Really Happened?